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YouTube to restrict teenagers’ exposure to videos about weight and fitness
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
232 points (97.2% liked)
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I'm sorry what. What is wrong about weight and fitness videos for youth? Watching those types of videos is what has lead me to lose 100 pounds in real life? Out of everything they have the option to restrict not that I want anything restricted to be honest.
They think being bombarded by them can cause body shame issues, and that teenagers are particularly vulnerable.
They're not removing access, just limiting the volume of recommendations.
Yeah, I think we had enough anorexia cases.
There a lot of fatties out there that think they are healthy and that someone who got visible ribs in anorexic. Heard quite a few stories if people going to the doctors and finding out they are obese when they thought they were a healthy weight.
People need more education on this matter not less.
FTA: YouTube’s global head of health, Dr Garth Graham, said: “As a teen is developing thoughts about who they are and their own standards for themselves, repeated consumption of content featuring idealised standards that starts to shape an unrealistic internal standard could lead some to form negative beliefs about themselves.”
And while I'm sure this is true, this is a minority of people, and they should seek help for their problem. There are far more who benefit from hearing about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and how to achieve it.
They should already be hearing that stuff from their parents and teachers, but I have my doubts. And they're much more likely to listen to influencers than authority figures at certain ages.
But the whole thing is even more pointless. They're mostly influenced by seeing these beautiful people constantly on TV, movies, and Youtube, and thinking that they don't measure up to them. Simply stopping some health care videos is going to do nothing for the problem and only prevent videos with the information they need.
I'm going to push back and say this is actually still a good move. You're assuming the weight and fitness videos are created equal, and I can assure you, they are not.
Most aren't qualified to be sharing exercise or diet information, many are little more than to show off the person's physique or sell a product, and some offer potentially dangerous or pseudoscientific advice that could sabotage a person's progress.
Knowing how to spot those problematic videos comes with experience, and I don't believe teens (in general; there's obviously exceptions) have a well-developed skillset for spotting bullshit.
So while I agree this is probably a PR move, I think it will still be a positive outcome.
We definitely don't need more Andrew Tates in the world.
Yep.
Something tells me that Google won't be turning down fast food companies that want to advertise with them, or reducing recommendations of channels that show off/review fast food a lot.
Maybe I'm being cynical, but this seems more like a "let's get some good headlines" ploy than something that will seriously help anybody.
I don't know what the best course is, but screwing over channels that promote exercise and healthy living doesn't sound like a good option to me. Even if they can exacerbate some people's perceived body issues.
hi, what does FTA mean? google shows a lot of different answers, thanks
"From The Article"
thank you :)
Weightlifting at certain young ages can be harmful. I'm not sure if that's part of the motivation as I'm not certain what the ages are, but that's something else to consider.
EDIT: Typo
Not more harmful than being obese. Or damage caused by body image issues.
https://ourworldindata.org/obesity
I didn't say that it is.
But to your second point, as others have mentioned, body image issues are likely the biggest reason for the change discussed in the OP.
This is a great idea, we don't need more Gymcel videos targeted towards the youth
Read 👏 the 👏 god 👏 damn 👏 article.
Every time someone claps to their own words, their intent is to antagonize instead of communicate a point
I can do both for lazy shit like this. Fuck them if they can't make it to paragraph 2.
You 👏 are 👏 right 👏
I can't hear you! Don't clap your hands while you're talking!
If the headline doesn't describe the article, it's clickbait and should be shamed.
The headline does describe the article. The article has more detail about the motivations and nuance of why certain weight and fitness videos are being promoted less to children.
If they included rabbit hole in the title, it would still be necessary for a lot of people unaware of the term to read the article to find out what that phrase means.
You are too kind spelling this crap out to them.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah. It's not click bait, or addresses the context. Read the article and you'd fucking understand your perceived click bait issue is imaginary.
I did read the article and my point still stands. If idealizing people that are better than you wanting to be better than what you currently are Is now something that is bad than we have failed. No matter if it's your physical condition, knowledge, wealth, anything. We as a human race should always push each other to be better than before.
It isn't about people better than you. It is about idealized and generally unrealistic body standards.
These are not videos about getting to a healthy weight and exercise routine. "Certain look" is a crappilly phrased way of saying unrealistic body standards, but that is what it means.
I still don't see it. Example being Hugh Jackman from the new Deadpool movie. There are interviews with with saying "yes I just eat 5k calories a day of chicken, veggies, and fish." That is 100% false and not true. If someone watches that interview because they wanted to either know how he managed to look like that or just because they liked the movie. but then in the recommended section it does not show someone who actually knows shit about fitness and steroids etc how would they know. Sometimes that rabbit hole is good. And can bring upon knowledge. A lot of fitness influences speak out on what would be considered "unrealistic body standards" as it is unhealthy to attempt to look that way.
As for trying to make you nose looks a certain way I can't really speak on that. but I still believe that the restriction of anything on a site such as YouTube is a dangerous precedent to set.
Edit: clarity
It is kind of funny that you think the recommendations would be informative instead of some shill peddling the same "you can do it with 5000 calories and exercise" bullshit. A rabbit hole is going further down the same hole.